High throughput screening methods for lubricating oil compositions

Abstract

A method for determining storage stability for a plurality of fluid lubricant samples of different lubricating oil compositions is provided. Each sample includes a combination of one or more base oils and one or more lubricating oil additives. The methods can advantageously be optimized using combinatorial chemistry, in which a database of combinations of lubricating oil additives or lubricating oil compositions containing such additives is generated. As market conditions vary and / or product requirements or customer specifications change, conditions suitable for forming desired products can be identified with little or no downtime.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Technical Field [0002] The present invention relates generally to methods for high throughput screening of lubricating oil compositions. [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art [0004] The use of a combinatorial approach for materials synthesis is a relatively new area of research aimed at using rapid synthesis and screening methods to build libraries of polymeric, inorganic or solid state materials. For example, advances in reactor technology have empowered chemists and engineers to rapidly produce large libraries of discrete organic molecules in the pursuit of new drug discovery, which have led to the development of a growing branch of research called combinatorial chemistry. Combinatorial chemistry generally refers to methods and materials for creating collections of diverse materials or compounds—commonly known as libraries—and to techniques and instruments for evaluating or screening libraries for desirable properties. [0005] Presently, res...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] (a) providing a plurality of different lubricating oil composition samples comprising (i) a major amount of at least one base oil of lubricating viscosity and (ii) a minor amount of at least one lubricating oil additive; (b) measuring wear stability of each sample to provide wear stability data for each sample; and, (c) outputting the results of step (b).

[0013] In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a high throughput screening method of lubricating oil compositions, under program control, is provided comprising the steps of (a) providing a plurality of different lubricating oil composition samples comprising (i) a major amount of at least one base oil of lubricating viscosity and (ii) a minor amount of at least one lubricating oil additive; (b) measuring extreme-pressure wear stability of each sample to provide extreme-pressure wear data for each sample; and, (c) outputting the results of step (b).

[0014] In a yet another embodiment of the present invention, a high throughput screen

Problems solved by technology

Based on the current testing technique, as disclosed above, analysis of each oil composition candidate is time consuming and costly.

However, as stated above, present research in the lubricant industry does not allow for reformulation to occur in an expeditious manner.

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